Block wall structure



June 30, 1959 s. v. cRAvENs 2,892,338

BLOCK WALL STRUCTURE Filed April 22. 1952 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 w IN V ENTOR. S21/waa uff/:V516

June 30, 1959 s. v. cRAvx-:Ns

BLOCK WALL STRUCTURE 'Filed April 22, 1952 '7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.SAMUEL 1/. GPA V'A/S e e e l .4 N L, A

A TTO/QMQYS June 30, 1959 s. v. cRAvENs BLOCK WALL STRUCTURE '7Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 22. 1952 INVENToR. AMUEL I4 @64 Vex/5 BY W, M

June 30, 1959 s. v. cRAvENs BLOCK WALL STRUCTURE '7 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR. 52x/waa 1/ 6,64 Vgn/5 Filed April 22. 1952 A TroeA/Eys' FiledApril 22, 1952 June 30, 1959 BLOCK WALL. STRUCTURE 'I sheets-shea eINVENToR. 534/170@ 1/. UPA VEA/5 s. v. CRAVENS v 2,892,338 l June 3U,1959 Q v CRAVENS 2,892,338

BLOCK WALL STRUCTURE 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed April 22. 1952 m m m M M.Wn/

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Fr f b" N w M United States Patent,

2,392,338 nnoeK WALL rsrnucrunn -Samuel V. Cravens, Portland, Greg.,assign'or to Domi- 'naire Constructions, Inc., Seattle, Wash., acorporation off Washington Application April 22, 1952, Serial No.283,701

6 Claims. (Cl. 72--38) 'of this type of wall structure were overcome byand lost in the cost and inconvenience of'making, storing, handling,shipping,` and using `so many .different types yof unit. Others,realizing the disadvantages just mentioned in the many different typesof unit, have attempted.. to build all Wall designs of a single lstyleof unit, with perhaps some variations in s'i'ze. The wall structure ofthe United States Patent Re. 22,913, dated September 9, 1947, to lR. D.Wells, is an example `of the latter attempts. This yhas the advantage ofsimplicity and Vrelatively low cost in the making, storing, handling,and shipping -of the necessary unitsV but such .exceedingly simple, wallvstruc- 'tures have not the exibility to accommodate the varying degreesof strength, over-all or at localized levels or `in columns, vof Weight,as determined .by such varying vstrength requirements, or .ofarchitectural design. Asa

result, such overly simple wallzstruetures., While they are Awhollysatisfactory where the requirements are .simple -and uncomplicated, tendto become increasingly expensive `and complicated. where they departfrom very simple designs, or :else inadequate.

' By the present invention a .middle ground is attained; the number ofstyles, shapes, and. sizes of: units required to fbuild virtually allystyles or designs ofV wall structure are no more than a .coordinatedset of about. ardozen, and, by a companion invention (application'Serial No. 283- 190, filed April 22, 195.2) that 'concerns the..machine :and process for making such units, the cost of making,storing, handling, .'alndxshippngithi'sfsmall number oi styles;V ofunit, .in the correct proportions, is. keptlow, :and `is .greatlysimplied Vand standardized.

More specically, tby the present inventionis shown how .a Wall may be`built,for example, in three. tiers, all thoroughly interlocked andcross-`bonded, where. loads are high; can `be.lightened'ro.rvs/foactualand one hypothetical tiers ,higher up, where .loads are less, but can'bestrength- *cried .to `three .actual tiersl where fnecessaryfforsupport of beams or joists; can be still further lightened' as :it

proceeds npwardlyi yet throughout it may have. continudozen differenttypes, and even some of them are `but rarely used, all utilized .to.thefbest advantage, So lfar Vas concerns appearance. the unitscan he SQassoublelk as `to uralte up a smoothJ tier, -bothinside,and outside,.and

Vthere need be no unsightly grooves `norribs, even at ICC corners. So.far as concerns utility andv convenience, straight runs forthefreception of'wiring, piping, conduits, etc., are left within thewall structure, and4 special but standard units may be provided,interchangeable with the normally. used units, where it is desired Vto,leave outlet apertures. for switches and the like. So far as. concernsconvenience in construction, and tightness, `the present invention aordsjoist seats, whereby theI joists can be simply anchored at their endswithin the wall structure, where the bearing is good, and the joist endcan bersealed so tightly that there is little or no. room for drafts,nor can the joists tilt or rotate, sidewise, and further upwardextension of the wall proceeds uninterruptedly, beyond and above thejoist. Thus, by this invention is provided a wall structure composed ofa minimum number of styles, sizes, and shapes of units, yet combinablein a wide variety of structural and architectural designs, in a mostflexible manner.

By the employment of a few special structural units, the standard unitsmay be so. assembled, in a modified arrangement, as to afford anexceptionally high degree of resistance to lateral forces, such as mightbe developed by high winds in exposed locations.

The present invention relates primarily to the set of coordinatedstandard blocks, to the wall structure of the type and having theadvantages indicatedy above, and `to the combination with such wallstructure of joists and joist anchors. The wall of this invention isintended primarily yas, an exterior Wall, although obviously it could be,used as. an interior partition.

.The principles of this. invention will be disclosed in thisspecification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein.these principles are illustrated in typical but not restrictive foamsof construction, and -w-ill be defined in the appended claims, which areto be construed as broadly as the novelty of lthe invention and itsdisclosure herein permits.

Figure l is a vertical transverse sectional` view through a` typicalwall construction, employing the. principles of this invention invarious different designs, and under dilering load-bearing conditions`Figures 2 and 3 are plan views of yalternating courses the lower portionof such a wall. Y

Figures 4 and 5 are plan views of alternating ycourses in an upperportion of the wall, where bearing loads are lighter but stillsubstantial; Figure 5 illustrates vthe ability to reinforce such alightened wall where necessary, :as 'for the support-.of .a joistjFigures 6 and 7 are plan views of .alternating .courses in a stillhigher portion of the same wall, where bearing loads nare least.

Figures 2 .to .7, inclusive, are .aligned vertically with `.one anotheras they would. be'. in the wall structure, and

60' and styles tot stretcher-'blocks employed, and4 Figurev V9 is .asimilar groupi'ngvof the 'several sr'izes, styles, and shapest vof bondblocks `employed, The entire wall Kstructure/may be'builtjfrom a set ofthese blocks ofvFiglures 8 and 9, with an occasional slightly-,variantshape.

, Figure l0Y is .an` visometric view ofV afba'se or vstarting course, asin `Figure 2, and the next coursefthereabove,

as 'in Figure 3.

Y Figure. 1l is anv exploded isometric View of a course somewhat higherup the wall, and of a reinforced course thereabove, as in .Figures 4and. 5. t Y i lFigure l2 is an explotfledV isometric View thereinforcedcourse which is included in Figure 1l, or as shown in Figure 5, and ofother alternating courses still higher up the wall, as in Figures 6 and7.

Figure 13 is an isometric view from inside the wall, and Figure 14 is asimilar view from outside the wall, illustrating the manner of includingjoists in and supporting them from the wall, and especially withrelation to the reinforced course illustrated in Figures 11 and 12.

, Figure l is a sectional view lengthwise of an end of a joist andtransversely of the wall, illustrating the joist `all illustrating amodied arrangement for use where high lateral stability is required.

Preliminary to describing the wall structure, a knowledge of thecomplete set composed of several block styles, sizes, and shapes ishelpful. They are shown in Figures 8 and 9. The stretcher blocks ofFigure 8 are designated M1 to 8, inclusive, and the several cross-bondblocks of Figure 9 are designated N2, N4, N4a, and N6. Of these, blocksM3 to M8, and N4, N4a :and N6 are principally used. It will be evidentthat the numeral following the letter in each such designation indicatesthe number of cups C in the upper horizontal surface of the block. Thesecups are spaced from one another, in the same line, by a given distancewhich may be taken as twice the distance from the center of the singlecup in block M1 to each vertical surface of the block (plus a slightclearance); this latter distance may be taken as a modulator distance,and the spacing between cups in the same row is a multiple modulardistance (twice). The distance between rows of cups in the bond blockspreferably is governed by the same modular distance, al-

cally located and spaced. By these arrangements, as- 1 suming accuracyof molding (as may be attained by the invention of the companionapplication Serial No. 283,- 700), each block will interlit, at shiftsby modular lintervals, with any block or blocks above or below it, inthe same tier or an adjacent tier, and requires no mortar. A thin masticmay be and ordinarily is all that is used.

Some blocks have ridges R and some complemental grooves G at theirvertical end edges, for further interitting. Some, like blocks N411 andM3, omit ridges and/ or grooves at one such end edge, usually becausethis end edge is to be exposed in a tier surface.

The wall structure made of such blocks is a multipletier wall; in itspreferred form itis made up in three tiers, actual or hypothetical. Theexterior tier, exposed to the weather, and the interior tier,constituting the inside wall of the building, may both be consideredexternal tiers in relation to the intermediate tier, and they are quitesimilar in structural arrangement. The intermediate tier may be actuallybuilt up of blocks, or may be hypothetical, with the blocks omitted tolighten the structure. A description of a typical wall construction willmake clear various typical forms which such a wall may assume, and thevarious different forms which may constitute part of the same wall atdifferent levels. Thus, referring to Figure 1, a footing is indicated at9 of poured concrete, and into this may be set, When'fresh, a startingcourse A. This is a course composed of three actual tiers, including twospaced face tiers and an intermedij ate tier between said face tiers,and is represented in I plan in Figure 2, and above it, alternating withit, may

be an exactly identical course reversed or, preferably, a somewhatsimilar actual three-tier course B as shown in Figure 3 is employed. Twosuch courses are shown, one upon another, in Figure 10, and suchcourses, alternating, may extend upwardly as far as is needful.

Course A consists of two blocks N411, placed side-byside, with stretcherblocks M4 between each pair of cross-bond blocks N4a. These two kinds ofblocks make up a cross-bonded interior and intermediate tier in thislirst course A, and the exterior third tier in the same course is madeup by a series of stretcher blocks M8 spaced from the intermediate tierby a distance exactly equal to the spacing between the face andintermediate tiers, that is, by the thrice-modular distance. Each blockM8 is placed to span the joint between the blocks N4a, so that thejoints between blocks in adjacent tiers will be staggered, and to extendto the middle of the blocks M4 at each side of the blocks N4a in thesame course, as is clearly seen in Figures 2 and 10. It will benoted-and this is particularly helpful in this starter 'course-that theinterlock between the blocks and their arrangement accurately in theplane of a tier is achieved and assisted by the interlock between theridges R and grooves G of the several blocks. By the arrangementdescribed there is left a continuous space S1 at the exterior side ofthe wall, Ibetween the exterior yface tier and the intermediate tier,which is exactly the same in thickness as the space S2 which liesbetween the interior face tier and the intermediate tiers, but which lisinterrupted by the cross bond-blocks N4a.

In the next course above there might be two crosslbond blocks N4aresting now upon the stretcher blocks M8 of the exterior tier and uponand registering precisely with the cross-bond blocks N4a of the firstcourse, in that portion which lies within the intermediate tier. Thatwould make an exceptionally strong pier as the doubled blocks buildupwardly, but so much strength is not ordinarily necessary and inaddition it would make the intermediate tier to consist entirely ofblocks M4, one upon another, and therefore not interlocked by breakingjoints with any other type of block; this in itself would tend to weakenthe wall. Accordingly, it is preferred that the course B be very nearlya reversal of the course A, but'dlfering therefrom in that a singlecrossbond block N4 is employed, spanning the joint between the blocksN4a but now connecting the exterior face tier and the intermediate tier,and in that these blocks N4 are interconnected by blocks M6 in theexterior and the intermediate tiers. The ends of the blocks M6 in theintermediate tier rest upon the outer edges of the blocks N4a in thecourse below in this intermediate tier, and the blocks M6 in theexterior tier in this second course B break joints with and span the twoadjoining blocks M8 in the course below, and interlock with boththereof. The interior tier in the course B is composed of stretcherblocks M8 which span the two cross-bond blocks N411 in those portionswhich lie in the outer tier in the first course, and likewise extendover the adjoining ends of the blocks M4 in the outer tier, and thuseach such block M8 in the second course B interlocks with four blocks inthe course below in the same tier.

The wall proceeds thus upwardly, alternating courses similar to course Aand to course B as far upwardly as is necessary for a wall of thisrather appreciable strength and weight. This might well be to tfhe levelof the first oor joists.

Without at this point stopping to described the manner in which thejoists are mounted and supported, it will be evident that the wall abovethese joists may well be somewhat lighter in construction. Thislightening may be accomplished by omitting the intermediate tier. Thewall may then be composed of two actual tiers and one hypothetical tier,which latter, as will hereinafter be made y clear, may become anactuality whenever required. Thus the course C, shown in Figures 4 and11, continues the to reinforce the wall structure, and this may be donevery readily by incorporating in that course D, or in'it and in thecourse below it, an actual intermediate tier inade up of the stretcherblocks M6. The ends of these rest upon the outer edges of the cross-bondblocks N411 so that they will be solidly supported from thecolumnstructure, and they will be located accurately in position by theinterengagement of their grooves G with the ribs R of the cross-bondblocks N4, as may bje seen inFigure and in Figure 11. i

Once more reserving for later description the course which contains theend of the second door joists, it will `be clear that the lwallthereabove .may be further lightened, and this may be done both byomitting the intermediate tier and by lightening the columnconstruetion, by the employment in each alternate course E and F of across-bond block N4 instead of two blocks N4a fin every other course.

The cross-bond `blocks N4 in alterate courses will 'rest at their innerends upon one another, and they are joined by stretcher blocks M6, andrthe opposite tier in the same course continues to be made up ofVstretcher blocks M8 with their joints intermediate the ends ofthestretcher blocks M6 in the opposite tier. This construction is ratherclearly shown in Figures 6, 7 and l2. If reinforcement is needed, forthe support' of 4a roof for example, Vthe doubled cross-bond blocks N4amay again be employed, and in the course thereabove stretchers M6 canagain be used, resting upon the doubled blocks N4a, just as in vthesuccessive courses C and D.

It will be remembered that by preference the starting i course A has theexterior tier formed by successive blocks M8 to leave a continuous spaceS1 between that exterior tier and the intermediate tier. By so doingthere is provided a channel in which any water that may seep in from theexterior Will collect and run, and from which it may be drained off, as,for example, to a drain tile T in Figure 1. Weep holes maybe providedfor the purpose in the exterior tier, and the interior tier should bewaterproofed on itsouter face. It is immaterial how 'many tiers `may beburied beneath the surface of the ground and thus be subject toinfiltration of ground water, for all these courses will provide adrainage space, continuous or discontinuous, leading to and confined tothe space S1 in the lowermost course A, and weep holes `may 'be providedat various locations to permit drainage 'of water wherever such drainageis `likely to Ibe-effe'ctive The wall construction which has beendescribed is v"admirably suited'to the incorporation and support ofiioor joists J and the like. If the modular distance is one inch, aspreferred, and the spacing between centers of the cups C is two inches,as is also preferred, then i a joist of nominal two inch thickness willt into one such twice-modular space. Referring to Figures 13 and 14, itwill be seen that the joists, if of a height exceeding the height of theblocks, have their ends beveled or otherwise reduced in height, and theyare located so that their ends will project into the wall and rest uponsome element thereof, preferably spanning the two interior tiers-thatis, the interior tier and the intermediate tier. This joist-supportingcourse may be termed A', as it is a substantial duplicate of the courseA. The joists may rest upon the column-forming blocks N4a or N4, or, asshown in Figure 15, they may span the gap between two stretcher blockssuch as M4. The joist end, then,

may extend just past and abuts the side ofthe opposite block N4, and inthe interior tier instead of vemploying the stretcher blocks M8, the twoinch shorter blocks M7 are employed. The end of such a stretcher blockM7 abuts but` does not interfere lwith the joist, and on the oppositeside of the joist another stretcher M7 replaces the normal stretcher M8,and spans the distance to. the next joist. By this means the joists arelocated at 16-inch centers, which is normal, and standard blocks arestill usable. In the course above the joists, the normal constructionmay be resumed, and will interlock with and break joint with respect to,the blocks M7 to a suiiicient degree that there is no loss of strengthor stability.

It is preferred that the joists I do not rest directly upon the blocksin the wall structure, but rather that they rest upon joist anchors 8.These anchors are provided with buttons St) corresponding in size and indistance transversely of the wall of the buttons in the lower edges of ablock, such as la block N4, and so these buttons will rest within thecups C of the blocks beneath them, and by providing spuds 8.1 projectingupwardly from the anchor 8 into holes bored in the lower edge of thejoist to receive them, or otherwise securely engaging the anchor platewith the joist, the joist is solidly anchored to the anchor 8- and thelatter is solidly anchored into the wall, so that the joist end may notbe disp-laced. For preliminarily fixing the anchor in place, va nail 8'2my be employed.

The blocks have thus been described lin a three-tier wall construction,in various gradations of strength and weight. It is of course possibleto omit entirely, instead of only partially, the intermediate tier, andso to build what is in fact a two-tier wall throughout, and that is whatis shown in Figure 16. Figure .16, however, is lprirr'larily for thepurpose of showing the manner in which such blocks will cooperate instandard fashion where two runs of the wall meet in a cornerconstruction.

The lowermost course is not necessarily the starting course, but isshown as including the blocks N6, which serve to space apart accuratelythe exterior tier and the interior tier by a distance equivalent to sixmodular runits. These tiers are made up in conjunction with the portionsof the blocks N6 that lie in the respective tiers, by the stretcherblocks M6. At the corner, however, in the interior tier, a block lM8 isemployed the end of which projects partly through the interior tier ofthe angled run of the wall; to complete the corner, three blocks M3 areemployed, two of which lie in the angled run and labut the oppositefaces of the block M8; the third lies in the exterior tier of the irstrun. In the vangled run the construction may be completed, in the outertier, with -a block M6. A block N6, and then the regular blocks M6 andN6 alternating, follow. In the next course above the exterior tier isconstituted primarily by stretcher blocks M8 spanning the portion of thefblocks N6 which lie in the exterior tier and spanning, also, the blocksM6 and'breaking joint the latter. The Yinterior -tier is constitutedprimarily by `blocks N4 resting upon that portion of the blocks N6 whichlie in the interior tier with stretcher blocks M6 resting directly uponthe blocks M6 in the interior tier of the course below. At the corner inthis second tier, a stretcher block M3 in the one run spans the jointbetween the blocks M3 and M6 at the corner, and interlocks them, andanother block M3 ties in the intruding end of the block M8 to the blockM6. A block M5 spans the intruding block M8 and interlocks with theblocks M3 at opposite sides thereof, and then beyond the corner theconstruction proceeds as before.

The course next above is in eifect a reversal of the course justdescribed, as may be seen in the upper part of Figure 16.

The blocks may be assembled in slightly different fashion, where greatlateral stability is required, or where heavy lateral loading isexpected. This arrangement is shown in Figures 17, 18 and 19. Here thestarting course is normal in all respects except that in theintermediate tier a block M6a of a height of only half the height of thenormal block is employed, or else a normal block M6 is employed, and issunk into the footing to permit it to project only half its height. Bythis means, al-

though the interior and the exterior tiers may be built up in normalmanner, the interior tier blocks are vertically offset relative to andbreak joint vertically with the two outside tiers, yet its blocks lockacross the joint between column-forming blocks N4 through theinterengagement of their respective ribs and grooves, and as a resultthe wall structure is extremely resistant to side forces.

Typical usage of nearly all the standard forms of block shown in Figures8 and 9 has been illustrated in the detailed description above. As tothose not speciically described, it will be evident that they arerequired only occasionally, when they may be used in special situationsas fillers. However, the description above has shown the great varietyof yforms of construction and architectural forms of design that arecapable of being built with no more than the approximately dozenstandard forms of blocks constituting a set. By thus keeping the numberof different forms 'and styles low, the problem of manufacturing,storing, shipping and handling the blocks is reduced greatly, and theentire operation is made economically feasible.

I claim as my invention:

1. A block wall structure comprising two spaced face tiers and anintermediate tier between said face tiers, each tier being formed ofcourses of blocks including stretcher blocks fitted only in a singletier and interleaved superposed c-ross bond blocks interconnecting saidface tiers and defining columns between said face tiers, the jointsbetween the blocks in adjacent courses being staggered, courses in saidtwo face tiers being substantially on the same level, one horizontalsurface of each -stretcher block having spaced cups therein and theother horizontal surface of each stretcher block having spaced buttonsprojecting therefrom, said cups and buttons being fitted with buttonsand cups, respectively, of blocks in adjacent courses, the twohorizontal surfaces of each of said cross bond blocks having `at leasttwo rows of cups therein and two rows of buttons projecting therefrom,said rows of cups and buttons extendingparallel to the wall, a cup ofone of said rows of each of said cross bond blocks and a button of oneof said rows of the same cross bond block being iitted with a button anda cup, respectively, of cross bond blocks in the adjacent courses of theintermediate tier, `and the cups of another of said rows of the samecross bond block and the buttons of another of said rows of the samecross bond block being tted with buttons andcnps, respectively, ofblocks in the adjacent courses of at least 011e and are connecteclbyinterfitted lcup and buttonengagement in both of the spaced face tiers.

3. The block wall structure defined in claim 1, in

Awhich ends of intermediate tier stretcherv blocks and the 'suchintermediate tier.

4. The block wall structure defined in claim 1,'Vin which alternatecourses of one face tier include, at cross bond block column locationsspaced lengthwise of such courses, pairs of cross bond blocks, the twocross bond blocks in each pair being disposed side-by-sidepand the`courses of the other face tier on levels betweenV the levels .oflsuchalternate courseshaving only a single cross bond block at each suchcross bond block Vcolumn location, each such single cross bond block atleast partially overlapping both blocks of each adjacent pair ofcrossbond blocks above and below such single cross bond block, and eachsuch single cross bond block ybeing connected by interfitted cup andbutton engagement with both blocks of each adjacent pair of cross bondblocks above and below such single cross bond block.

5. The wall structure defined in claim 4, in which end portions ofintermediatevtier stretcher blocks are disposed injthe same courses andadjacent to the single cross bond blocks and are fitted between portionsof cross bond blocks of adjacent pairs of cross bond blocks above andbelowl such stretcher block end portions, and such stretcher block endportions are connected by interfitted cup and button engagement withsuch portions of 'cross bond blocks Aof adjacent pairs of cross bondblocks such courses, and a joist having an end portion supported by saidjoist anchor plate.

References cited in the nie of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSRe.'22,913 Wells Sept. 9, 1947 534,462 Balsley Feb. 19, 1895 1,318,828Baker Oct. 14, 1919 1,543,331 Hoenemann June 23, 1925 1,565,537 WellsDec. 15, 1925 1,571,285 `McDougall Feb. 2, 1926 1,782,216 Shodron Nov.18, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS y 915,121 France of1946 966,504 France of 195,0140,393 Great Britain of 1920 Sweden yof 192,2

